One (1) of the largest and more important industries in the world is energy production. A simple basic fact is that the world in general and America in particular needs energy.
There are many different types of energy: coal, hydro, solar, nuclear, wind and fossil fuels (non-coal fossil fuels). Coal has a reputation for being dirty and shares with nuclear a reputation as being a source of dangerous pollution. Hydro power has been almost fully developed in the United States. Wind and solar power while attractive are unproven as reliable large scale sources of power. However, fossil fuels are well known and widely used sources of power, particularly for vehicle and heating fuels.
Fossil fuels have been widely used for well over a hundred years. The main problems with fossil fuels include price, which is a function of availability. Recovering fossil fuels is become increasingly more difficult as new fields are seldom encountered. However, newer recovery methods have increased the amount of fossil fuels that can be obtained from known fields.
The newer recovery methods include hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is based on creating and propagating fractures in a geological formation by first using explosive shaped charges to create perforation tunnels and subsequently pumping liquids and propant material through the perforation tunnels into the geological formation. Hydraulic fractures enable gas and petroleum contained in the source rocks to migrate into a well where the fossil fuel can be recovered using well-known techniques.
Hydraulic fracturing is not without its problems and technical challenges. Creating effective perforation tunnels is not in itself trivial. Producing controlled explosions within a well bore to create effective perforation tunnels is even more difficult. First the explosion must be at the proper well depth. This typically requires drilling a well to the proper depth followed by the insertion of one (1) or more perforation guns containing explosive charges. Then, for maximum effect the perforation tunnels must be directed towards a desired direction. Since that location might be up, sideways, down, or at a particular angle the explosive charges should be both shaped to form a tight, effective perforation tunnel and directed towards the proper orientation. At well depth both of these desired attributes are difficult to accomplish.
Therefore, a new perforation gun that produces tight, controlled, and effective perforation tunnels in the desired direction would be beneficial. Even more beneficial would be a new perforation gun capable of producing controlled and enhanced perforation tunnels.